“He’s very important, we can always count on. We are very happy that we managed to keep him. I think this is one player you want to keep forever.

“But we realise in Monaco we have a certain model, that at a certain moment when we feel it’s right we have to let players go in order to be successful again. This is not only about money; this is more about being successful.”

Sky Sports say that Vasilyev also admitted there had been “strong” interest from us, Manchester City and other sides in the Premier League for the services of Fabinho.

Fabinho was very impressive for Monaco last season as they surprisingly won the French Ligue 1 title and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. He predominately played right-back last season but also played holding midfield on occasions. He is excellent in both roles.

Monaco lost key players Kylian Mbappe, Bernando Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Benjamin Mendy this past summer and could be in for a struggle to hold onto other stars like Fabinho, Thomas Lemar and Djibril Sidibe in both the upcoming January and next summer’s transfer markets.

We currently have Antonio Valencia at right-back who is one of the best in his position in both the Premier League and world football right now. He recently turned 32 but has showed no signs of slowing down. However, you can certainly expect Jose Mourinho to be looking at the long-term replacement in either next summer’s transfer window or the one after.

Mourinho is seemingly not a fan of Matteo Darmian but the Italian is the backup to Valencia this season, with Phil Jones as another option if we’re desperate. 19-year-old Timothy Fosu-Mensah has also played for us at right-back but is currently on a season-long loan at Crystal Palace.

But for injuries we’re spoiled for choice in the centre of midfield with Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick all vying for two positions in the starting XI this season.